I'm always re-evaluating how much equity I truly want in a property & in this market... anything I "BRRR" (god i hate that phrase and what it's become lol) I usually end up selling before the last R happens due to the phase of the market we're in.

What factors are most important to you when evaluating a new area for investment?

It's so important to get the numbers right to evaluate a property.

To stay conservative when evaluating / underwriting the deal you want to be maybe 100-150 bps higher than your entry cap rate.

@Jennifer Keller,Hi Jennifer, I think the point of this thread is to have new real estate investors do some self evaluation first before trying to jump into the real estate investment game.Ask some basic questions of yourself:Do I have a good paying job?

@Dion McNeeley has some very valid points.Asking, Studying, Evaluating and soon Viola!

For Flips the 70% Rule is commonly used to quickly evaluate the Maximum Purchase Price you should offer for a flip.Maximum Purchase Price = (ARV * 70%) - RepairsThe % doesn't have to be 70%, in fact in today's competitive market it may be more like 75% to 80%, but it's best to be conservative!

Because this property is only 3 units you would not evaluate the value based on income and cap rates.

I have been told to evaluate the private lender route.

In 2009, I bought a townhouse in California for $590K.Today, that house is worth about $1.4M, and I owe $370K on it.It's bringing in $4,500/mo, but after $2,430 mortgage payment, $200 HOA, and ever-increasing property taxes, my ROE is really quite pitiful.Furthermore, my tax situation in the country where I live (outside the US) allows me to sell the property without being taxed here on the gains, but only if I act in the next few years.Thus, I've decided to 1031 the property.Now, I'm looking for suggestions, guidance, and experiences from folks who've done something like this.A few criteria:I care about cash flow, not appreciation, at this pointI visit Phoenix and Newark a lot, so I'd considered those as markets, but I'm not sure how to evaluate themI was thinking to buy a large apartment complex... but not sure if that's the right move as opposed to multiple properties.I have considerable amounts of cash that I can invest into the new property if needed, though I might just invest that into other projects separatelyI'd like to move this new property into an LLC to help protect my other assets, but I have heard that would be very challengingAppreciate any thoughts or guidance anyone can offer!